The blu ray version.. - The Wolf Man (1941) Discussion

of course! All films have that ratio, up to the 1950´s films!

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[–] MonteCarloMan 11 years ago

But my old DVD version plays fullscreen.

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a) Look at that "widescreen" version you have. Is the picture/ people/ everything somewhat flattened? Then your TV might have forced the picture into widescreen ratio. You can adjust that!
b) If not? Then that company who released the dvd has cut the upper and lower parts to make it look widescreen and more "modern".

You know, Ive seen most of all horror films but also films from other genres from the 1930´and 1940´s, and they ALL have the ratio which is very close to the oldfashioned TV format. Not until the blockbusters and big budget movies of the late 1940´s, such as Gene Kelly movies, are made in a more wide scope (not really widescreen either, but its much wider than the old TV format). I dont know what more I can tell you, but there is no way The Wolfman can bee seen in wider screen format, without anyone had done something to it/ or your TV screen shall change the ratio, which you do with your remote...

Good luck!

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[–] kbarada 11 years ago

Try playing it when the wolfbane blooms and the autumn moon is bright.

Just kidding. I think it is playing like it should. You can try the stretch or full screen feature on you TV, but that will result in some distortion. I've tried that sometimes and if I watch for a few minutes, then I get used to it. It is what it is.

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[–] MonteCarloMan 11 years ago

The blu ray version is shot in 4:3 picture format so that can't be adjusted by my tv/dvd remote. The 2009 DVD remaster that i own was shot in fullscreen 1:33.1 aspect ratio, thus this version can be adjusted into 4:3 or any other aspect ratio but the blue ray appears locked into 4:3 format hence the black bars shown to the left & right of the picture.

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[–] CrazyRalph_13 11 years ago

Try playing it when the wolfbane blooms and the autumn moon is bright.

I don't mind it.

You're doomed! You're all doomed!

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[–] MonteCarloMan 10 years ago

Update: I picked up the US blu ray disc that was released this year and guess what? It plays exactly like the previous UK version! It claims on the cover 1:33.1 format fullscreen but it plays 4:3!

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[–] GeneticSugarKane 10 years ago

1.33:1 and 4:3 are the same thing, sir. The film plays in its original aspect ratio on the Blu Ray, as it should. In this correct aspect ratio of 4:3/1.33:1 it won't fill up a widescreen television.

4:3/1.33:1 films will have large black bars on the left and right of your widescreen television.
1.66:1 will have small black bars on the left and right of your widescreen television.
2.35:1 will have large black bars on the top and bottom of your widescreen television.

My IMDb lists: www.imdb.com/user/ur5570856/lists

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[–] Mississippi20 10 years ago

Movie theater screens used to be in a 1.33:1 ratio in the 20's, 30's, 40's......I don't think they came up with CinemaScope widescreen lenses until the 50's, but I'm not a film historian.

Thus, the 1.33:1 format on your blu ray is how the film was shot, shown in theaters in 1941, and is how it should be.

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[–] Cult_of_Kibner 10 years ago

There SHOULD be black bars on the sides of the image. The movie was shot in approximately 4:3, which is the same thing as 1.33:1. Your dvd was either being stretched to fill your 16:9/1.78:1 tv or the top and bottom of the image were being cut off. The blu-ray is showing you the movie correctly.

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[–] strangenstein (683) 4 years ago

Fullscreen and widescreen are two different things. The Wolf Man is 4:3 (fullscreen). I’m not sure why anyone would want to watch it in widescreen, since it would look stretched. The black bars on the sides of the screen don’t mean you’re missing anything.

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[–] JackNorth (244) 4 years ago

The DVD versions could be stretched to fit widescreen, but that always makes the people look...w-i-d-e. Quite often you'd see films that were originally shot in widescreen cropped to fit the old-fashioned 4:3 TV screens. (They looked awful.) Blu-Ray discs do not allow the aspect ratios to be fiddled with, although there are some, I think, that offer several versions on the same disc.

The film was not shot in widescreen. The "shape" you see is the exact same as seen in movie theaters.

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